In a joint statement on Thursday, Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop, Minister for Regional Development and Associate Minister for Energy Shane Jones and Minister for Energy Simon Watts announced the Slopedown wind farm had been given approval by a fast-track panel.
The wind farm, situated on hills about 30km southeast of Gore, would consist of 55 turbines and could generate up to 380MW and provide power for up to 150,000 households.
Mr Jones said the project would inject $13.5million into the local economy and create up to 300 jobs during construction. Once commissioned, it would employ about 10 to 14 full-time equivalent staff to operate the wind farm. It would be the country’s biggest wind farm.
Mr Jones said the real significance of this infrastructure lay in the ability to unlock further investment and attract new industry to the region.
The project was previously turned down through Covid fast-track legislation because of concerns over the visual impact on the environment and landscape issues. It took just over five months to be approved through the fast-track process, the ministers said.
Contact Energy chief executive Mike Fuge said the final consent approval for the Southland Wind Farm was another step forward in the company’s vision to lead New Zealand’s renewable energy future.
The proposed wind farm would power the equivalent of 150,000 homes and would also bring more than $400m into the New Zealand economy, much of which would stay in Southland, he said.
The project was still subject to final investment decision, he said.
Contact Energy had previously said it had spent $20m on the consent process. It had said in its application the wind farm could be a billion-dollar project.
The company had wanted a consent term of 60 years but received 35 years.
The project has proved unpopular with many residents in the area who felt they had been sacrificed for the rest of the country and the fast-track process had ignored many of their concerns.
West Catlins Preservation Society spokeswoman Natalie McRae said it felt like the entire fast-track process was loaded against them.
‘‘The timeframe between us commenting on the conditions and it coming out today [Thursday], it's basically like they didn't read it at all,’’ she said.
‘‘I wouldn't be surprised if the panel was sitting around having a drink with Contact to be honest. I think it's been a done deal, and they've paid anything we've said no attention.’’
She said it might not be over yet.
‘‘We don't agree that the decision is correct and we'll be looking to take this further.’’
Under the fast-track process, appeals can be made but it is limited to points of law rather than the merits of the project. Appeals must be filed with the High Court within 20 working days of the decision.
She said the group had been in discussions over options and the affordability of an appeal would have to be assessed.
Another opponent, farm worker Carlyn Stewart, who worked on a family farm near the wind farm, said the Wyndham and Southland community were paying for Shane Jones' ego, under the guise of zero emissions.
‘‘It is worth noting, this large-scale wind farm which has significant negative effects, hence why it was turned down through the RMA, is only replacing the equivalent electricity generation that has been lost by Contact Energy shutting down their gas-fired plants in the North Island,’’ she said.
‘‘Unfortunately, in the end, there will be less electricity due to the inefficiencies of wind farms, and having to transport the electricity to the other end of the country.’’
She said it was time for councils throughout the country to urgently sit down with their communities before it was too late, to decide what was too special to lose and put steps in place to protect it now.
